Four-Star Recruit Faces Big Decision Between Five Top Programs

With head coach Mike Elko and Texas A&M's recruiting staff ranking No. 3 nationally in the class of 2026 recruitment rankings. The Aggies have picked up many top prospects, including one five-star, 23 four-stars, and two three-stars.

Another four-star and top prospect for the Aggies is Jaquez Wilkes, the 6'4 edge out of Wadley, Alabama, who is announcing his commitment on July 21. Wilkes has his top five options narrowed down to Texas A&M, Auburn, Miami, Alabama, and Florida State.

According to 247 Sports, Wilkes ranks as the overall No. 91 player nationally in the class of 2026, as well as the No. 10 edge and the overall No. 7 best player from Alabama.

After receiving 25 offers from solid Division I programs, Wilkes has only made three official visits to Auburn, Texas A&M, and University of Miami. He did end up making two trips down to Miami though, one unofficially and one official.

Jaquez Wilkes A Good Fit For The Aggies?

With July 21 approaching, Wilkes has to make a decision between the top five historic football programs, but will Texas A&M be his best fit?

Taking a deeper dive into the other four programs in Wilkes' top five, all but one school has more edge players currently on their rosters, which could be a deciding factor for Wilkes. Alabama and Florida State both have fewer edges on their roster besides the Aggies, with four and seven edges on their roster, respectively.

The other three programs have significantly more edges playing/committed, which could draw Wilkes away. Auburn has 14 on its roster with one commit, Miami has 10 on its roster with no commits, and Florida State has seven on its roster with no commits.

Texas A&M did lose a couple of key edges in Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart, who were both picked in the 2025 NFL Draft. Scourton led the Aggies in sacks during the 2024 campaign with five, as he totaled 25 tackles on the season. Stewart recorded 31 tackles for Texas A&M and had 1.5 sacks for 16 yards lost.

With both Scourton and Stewart gone from the program, it will be interesting to see where Elko and his staff go defensively this upcoming season. With this, Wilkes would be an amazing grab for the Aggies as he is dominant on defense in the edge position.

With his announcement coming on July 21, Wilkes will choose between five top programs: Texas A&M, Miami, Auburn, Florida State and Alabama.